Chapter 22 Chapter 21

From the top of the building that was about to collapse, Emiko looked north. She had done this every day since Raleigh had confirmed the existence of the Clockwork Man's Realm, or since Mr. Anderson had mentioned the possibility of such a place.She can't control herself.Even in Mr. Anderson's arms, even when he invited her to stay with him sometimes, paying for her bills at Raleigh, she couldn't help visiting that unoccupied place in her dreams. north. She took a deep breath, inhaling the smell of salty sea water, burning dung, and blooming orchids into her lungs.Far below is the wide mouth of the Chao Phraya River, encircling Bangkok's system of locks and embankments.On the other side, the bamboo rafts and towering buildings of Thonburi still float as best they can.The pagoda of Wat Arun emerges from the water, surrounded by the rubbish of a submerged city.

north. A cry from below broke her meditation.It took her brain a while to figure out what the incoming noise meant, her mind flipping between Japanese and Thai, trying to translate the sounds into understandable words.But at this time, those words have turned into screams. "Quiet!" "Maiao! No! No no no no!" "Get down! Maplohngdieownee! Turn your face away!" "Please, please, please!" "Go down!" She looked up and listened carefully to the quarrel.She had good hearing, one of those attributes the scientists had given her, along with smooth skin and a doglike compulsion to obey commands.She listens.From below came more screams, thunderous footsteps, and the sound of something smashing.The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.She was only wearing shorts and a camisole, all the clothes she wore when she went to the street were underneath, and she hadn't changed her upper body yet.

There was another cry from below.Someone screams in pain, raw, animal pain. White shirt.This is a surprise inspection.Adrenaline pumped through her veins.She had to get out of here before they got on the roof.Emiko turned and ran towards the stairs, stopping at the stairs again.The sound of footsteps had already begun to come up. "The third team, over!" "Flanking search completed?" "complete!" She slammed the door shut, leaning on her back.She's stuck here.They have taken up the stairs.Her eyes searched the roof, hoping to find another escape route.

"Check the roof!" Emiko accelerated towards the edge of the roof.The balcony closest to her was 30 feet below.That balcony has an awning, as it has since the building was a fairly luxurious place to live.Looking at the narrow balcony, she felt a little dizzy.There was nothing below that, and if she missed the balcony, she could only fall into the street below, with its dense black spider-egg crowd. A gust of wind picked up and nearly knocked her over the edge of the roof.Emiko swayed a few times, and managed to maintain her balance.As if the spirits in the air wanted to kill her too.She stared intently at the balcony below.No.Impossible to do.

She turned again, and ran for the door leading to the stairs, searching the roof for anything that could seal the door securely.Bricks, tiles, pieces of clothing on a clothesline, but not a single tool she could use—suddenly she saw a battered broom, grabbed it, and jammed it against the door frame. The hinges of the door were so badly corroded that they creaked at the slightest effort.She held the wooden handle of her broom against the door and frowned.Even the weatherproof wood the brooms are made of is stronger than the metal gates. Emiko frantically considered other escape plans.Running back and forth like a mad mouse had her insides boiling.The sun was descending below the western horizon like a huge red fireball.The light cast long shadows on the dilapidated roof of the building.Her eyes finally fell on the clothesline and the clothes hanging on it: maybe she could use these ropes to climb down.She ran to the clothesline and tried to pull a rope down, but the rope was strong and the knots were tied securely.Of course, nothing is easy to succeed.She tugged again.

Behind her, the door began to tremble.Someone on the other side of the door was cursing, "Open the door!" Under the violent impact, the door leaf jumped in the door frame, and the makeshift latch would be knocked open in no time. To her disbelief, she heard Mr. Iwato's voice ringing in her head, telling her that she was perfect, optimized, and likable.The old bastard's voice made her face darken, and she tugged on the clothesline again.She hated him, she hated the old poisonous snake who loved her but abandoned her.The rope sank deep into her flesh, but it still didn't break.Mr. Iwato, a perfidy.She's optimized, but she's not worth a return airship ticket, so she's about to die.

I'm on fire. You are optimized. There was another loud bang behind him.There was a crackling sound from the door.She gave up trying to remove the clothesline.She turned around again, desperately looking for something else.There is nothing around but rubble.She seemed to be a thousand miles up in the sky.The highest place in the world. A pair of hinges was knocked off, and broken metal flew out.The door seemed to be overwhelmed.Emiko took one last look at the door, then sprinted to the edge of the roof, still hoping to find a way to crawl underneath and escape successfully. She stopped and looked around the edge of the building.The huge gap seems to be an open bloody mouth.The wind howled on the roof.Nothing at all.Without handles, there is no way to climb.She looked back at the clotheslines again.as long as she—

All the hinges came off the frame, and the door fell down.Two white shirts stumbled out the door, spring-loaded pistols brandishing.They saw her and rushed in this direction, "You! Come here!" She peered under the edge again.The people on the street are like little black dots, and the balcony is about the size of an envelope. "Stop! Yootdieownee! Don't run!" White Shirt was running towards her—a full run—but for some reason their movements seemed suddenly slowed down, as slow as a flow of half-frozen honey. Emiko looked at them, puzzled.They've covered half the distance, but they seem to be moving very, very slowly, like they're running through thick rice porridge.Every movement is dragged so long, so slowly.Like the man who chased her down the alley and tried to kill her with a knife.so slow...

Emiko smiled.She is optimized.She stepped up to the retaining wall of the roof. The mouths of the two white shirts opened, as if they were about to shout something.Their spring pistols were raised and aimed at her.Emiko watched the gun being aimed at herself, and wondered wildly that maybe she was the one who was really moving slowly.Maybe the rate of fall will also be slower. The wind whistled around her, as if calling her.The spirit in the air pushed and squeezed her, blowing her black hair over her eyes.She brushed her hair out of her eyes, smiled calmly at the two white shirts - they were still running this way, still pointing guns at her - and then she took a step back and fell from the top of the building .White Shirt's eyes widened.Their muzzles glowed red.Frisbees flew towards her one after another.One, two, three...she counted the Frisbees flying towards her...four, five—

Gravity pulls her down.Neither the two men nor the Frisbee they shot were out of sight.She smashed through the awning of that balcony hard.Her knee hit her jaw.Metal screamed, and her ankle twisted.She made a tumbling motion and hit the balcony railing.The railing began to vibrate, then fell apart, and she fell into the open air.Emiko took her only chance and grabbed a broken copper pole.The downward momentum stopped, but she was still hanging precariously above the abyss. The air around her gaped wide, urging her into a state of free fall.The hot wind blows, as if tearing her.Emiko forcefully pulled her body above the balcony.She was panting violently, her whole body was shaking, and she seemed to be bruised in many places, but at least her limbs were still able to move.Even such a fall did not break a single bone in her.She is optimized.She lifted one leg and stepped onto the balcony, finally reaching safety.There was a low whimper of metal.Bearing her weight, the balcony also began to crumble, and the old screws loosened.She is burning out.She wished her body could break down.She even wished to let her body slide off the unstable ledge and fall into the open space...

Shouts came from above. Emiko looked up.White Shirt was peering down from the edge of the roof, aiming his spring-loaded pistol at her.Frisbees fell like silver raindrops, bouncing around, cutting her skin, or sending sparks off metal.Fear gave her new strength.She rushed to the glass door from the balcony to the interior.She is the best.The door began to shake.Glass sliced ​​through her palm.Shattered glass enveloped her, and she stepped through, rushing into the apartment.She ran so fast that even her figure was blurred.Shocked people stare at her, their movements unimaginably slow— It's even like freezing still. Emiko burst open another door and rushed into the hallway.White shirts surrounded her.She passed through them like a gust of wind.Their exclamations of astonishment were muffled.She rushed down the stairs.Down, down, down.Throw the white shirt far away.Shouts came from far away. Her blood seemed to be on fire, and the air in the stairwell seemed to be on fire.Her steps faltered and she leaned against a wall.Even the hot concrete was cooler than her own skin.She started to feel dizzy, but she still struggled to escape.From above came the yells of pursuers, their boots clattering loudly on the stairs. She fled downward, round and round and round and round.She pushed past groups of occupants evicted from the building in white shirts.The way to escape was blocked by the crowd.The high heat inside her body made her spirit go wild. Tiny beads of sweat began to appear on the skin, and the absurdly designed pores could only allow so little sweat to escape, but the surrounding environment was so hot and humid that this amount of sweat did little to cool her body temperature.Still, she had never noticed her skin getting wet before.She's always been dry— Her body brushed against a man, who backed away in horror at the incredible heat on her skin.She was going to burn out.She had absolutely no way of mixing among these people.Her limbs were like the pages of a flip book a child reads, moving fast, but twitching.Everyone stared at her blankly. She turned another corner of the stairs, pushed open the door of the stairwell, rushed into a corridor, and leaned against the wall, panting violently.The flames inside her body scorched her, and she could barely open her eyes. I jumped off, she thought. I jumped off. The mixture of adrenaline and panic gave her bouts of dizziness, like amphetamines.She was trembling, trembling in a clockwork man's way.She was so hot that she was about to pass out.She leaned her body against the wall tightly, trying her best to absorb the coolness. I need water.And ice. Controlling her breathing, Emiko listened, trying to figure out where those who would end her life would come from.Her mind was still in turmoil.How far down did she run?How many layers? keep running.continue. Despite thinking so in her heart, her body fell down. The floors are cool.Air was moving in and out of her lungs intermittently.The camisole on his body was torn, and his arms and hands were covered with blood, from the injury he had suffered when he smashed through the glass door.She stretched out her hand, spread her five fingers, and pressed her palm to the floor, absorbing the cool air on the floor as much as possible.She closed her eyes. get up! But she can't.She struggled to control her beating heart and listened to the sounds of her pursuers.But she could barely breathe.She was so hot and the floor was so cool. One hand grabbed her.Someone said something loudly, threw her to the ground, and pulled her up again.Then she was surrounded by white shirts, and they dragged her down the stairs.Though they yelled at her and slapped her, she was very grateful to them for letting her go downstairs into the lovely night wind outside. Their curses hit her face, but she couldn't understand a single word.The cursing became mere noise, and all she could feel was the darkness and the dizzying heat.These people aren't even civilized, none of them are optimized— A basin of water drenched her from head to toe.She choked on water and almost suffocated.Then another basin of water filled her mouth and nose, and she almost drowned. Someone is shaking her body.They came close to her face, shouting something.They slapped her, asked questions, demanded answers. They grabbed her by the hair, pushed her face down into a bucket of water, punished her, and killed her.But all she could think was thank you, thank you thank you thank you.She has been optimized by scientists.It only takes one more minute to cool off the wind-up girl who has endured their yelling and slapping.